Do You Believe in Magic?
by Chelsea Oz
Summary: Set in season 3, it's a story of New Year's Day morning and how an unexpected Diane Chambers moment helped kick off a great year for Sam and Diane. One shot.


New Year's Eve was another whirlwind that had come and gone. This was Diane Chambers' third year in a row working there and Sam Malone could have swore it was crazier with each passing year that she was employed. Diane wasn't driving him crazy, no, not any crazier than usual. It was the people that seemed to flock to the bar whenever she was around. He never did dare tell Carla that they made more on her day off than any other day of the week. The craziest thing about this scenario? Sam was never in the least bit shocked over this. He knew Diane had a way with people that he had never known before and he guessed he never would.

The clock struck five a.m and Sam had plunked himself on the office chair. His feet were killing him and his spirit was drained. He thanked the Lord that the bar was finally closed up and he could finally call it a night. Sam wanted to go home but something told him to just hang on. That's exactly what he did; he folded his arms on top of the desk and just cradled his hands inside of them, hoping to catch his breath.

At that very moment, something had taken his breath away. He had heard the familiar tune of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic?" blaring from the jukebox. Sam had jumped up and tried to check to see if he wasn't just dreaming. No, no, he was awake all right, but what the hell? He could have swore he sent everybody home. Maybe, just maybe, the machine had gone faulty again? It could have started by itself? Hey, anything's possible. He opened the door only to stand there gazing at a blond woman in a long, red coat dancing around the bar. She didn't care if anyone was watching because for all she knew, nobody was there to care. Sam smiles to himself because little did Diane Chambers know that he was indeed watching her.

Lyric after lyric and chorus repeat over chorus repeat, she just kept dancing. Sam was amazed at how she had never noticed him standing there. She twirled, dipped, and shaked her body to the music without ever skipping a beat. Sam noticed her smile the whole time. It was a smile someone could only give when they were genuinely happy. That smile made her that much more of a beautiful person to him. He could see it in her eyes that she was exhausted but her happy spirit would make anyone feel otherwise. He hoped that smile and feeling would never escape her.

"Bravo," Sam clapped and called out to her as the song drew to a close.

"Sam Malone," she turned to look at him, flabbergasted. "What on the earth? I thought you had went home!"

"Well, I didn't," Sam said, clearly upset as Diane turned off the jukebox with tears brimming in her eyes. "Don't be embarrassed, sweetheart."

"I came back for my purse, I had forgotten it," Diane explains as she wipes her face dry. "It was such an insane night that I just had to let go of some of it. I thought everyone was gone."

"Don't cry," Sam says, wrapping his arms around her. "Come here, baby."

"Since when do you call anybody 'baby'? It's always either 'honey' or 'sweetheart'."

"I don't know. Maybe it was because you were so childlike when you were dancing."

"Oh, great," Diane says, letting go from his embrace. "I dance like a child."

"No, no," Sam protests, taking her by the shoulders. "That was really great. You don't know how great you are when you're not trying."

Diane all of a sudden looks like a deer caught in the headlights. This worries Sam a little until the smile comes back on her face. Sam smiles back at her and kisses her cheek.

"Well, thank you," Diane says, taking his hands in hers.

"For what?"

"For making this a very happy new year for me."

"Well, thank you for a very happy new year, too."

"I have to go."

"Okay."

"See you tomorrow?"

"I'll be here."

With that, Diane had turned on her heels and walked out of the bar like she had done a million times before. Sam was happy that tomorrow would be the million plus one times she would walk into the bar.

"Happy New Year, Diane."


End file.
